I'm a Cyborg (but that's okay)
by Miss Evil Muffins
Summary: There had been a brief time in her life during which Courtney had mistakenly thought herself to be a flesh-and-blood human being, but that was a long time ago. Shelly/Courtney, M for eventual sexual content
1. Courtney and the Mysterious Ticking Nois

Overall rating is M (future sexual situations) however this chapter is totally G-rated (Shelly doesn't even show up yet. What's up with that, huh?)

Please understand that Courtney is not actually a robot in this story (I know that head-canon upsets some people). There are reasons why she feels the way she does that will be revealed later on. Thanks for your understanding :)

* * *

_"I am…a robot. My programming does not allow me to return your feelings… Conversation terminated. Hah." _

Her internal memory systems must be malfunctioning. It was the only explanation as to why her earlier conversation with the Team Aqua girl had continued to loop through her head for the past few days. It would have been maddening, had robots been capable of feeling such frustration.

There had been a brief time in her life during which Courtney had mistakenly thought herself to be a flesh-and-blood human being, but that was a long time ago.

She would need to consult with Tabitha in morning, she decided, as she wriggled into her pajamas and climbed into bed. He always seemed to have a way of helping her to debug.

The girl pulled the hood of her pajamas up over her ears as she settled down. The plush Houndoom ears adorning either side of the black hood made it somewhat difficult to get comfortable when lying on one's side, but the sensation of being bundled in such a way was something she usually found quite comforting. Tonight, however, it offered little help. She tossed and turned as she tried attempted to mentally crunch the numbers for how much land mass they could be expected to create upon completion of the Plan. However, each time that she reached the part concerning the percentages of remaining ocean, a certain pirate woman would always come crashing into her thoughts, resting the numbers away from her like a rip tide.

Eventually, even her wakefulness washed adrift as well.

* * *

"Big brother...play catch?" she heard a tiny voice ask

The terrible odor of salt assailed her senses. One look at the all too familiar surroundings told her that they were on a finishing boat.

"I can't right now, Court," the purple-haired young man replied with a laugh. "I'm kinda busy. The magikarp we're out here to catch are harmless, but I still have to keep an eye out. There are other things down there, Court. The ocean isn't a place where you can let your guard down." He gave his fishing rod a twitch.

She could feel her tiny mouth form into a pout as her little fingers gave the ball a petulant toss in the teenager's direction.

Missing the target, the ball began to sail over the side of the boat, stopped only by a quick action from the boy, dropping his pole to lean far over the rail.

Suddenly, pandemonium broke out as heavy fishing boot pounded the deck on all sides, voices shouting the same thing: "Tentacruel!"

There came a gigantic brown serpentine appendage, a scream, a splash…

* * *

It took three fumbling swats before her fingers finally succeeded in hitting home on the alarm clock's 'off' button.

Up until one week ago, or rather six days seven hours, forty-minutes ago, Courtney had had no need for an alarm, having perfectly programed herself to wake for work at the precise time each morning. Recently, however, these memory malfunctions had been causing her sleep mode to last unacceptably long. As it was so unlike her to ever sleep in, the first time it had occurred, Maxie and Tabitha had concluded that she must have been ill, and agreed not to wake her. It had been quite difficult for her to catch up on the built-up paper work and training the following day, so alarm clock it was.

She scooted up in bed, tossing back her hood, in order to better rest her face in her hands.

It was imperative that whatever bug had been introduced to her memory banks be deleted. If her sleep mode were to continue malfunctioning so, how could she expect to be an efficient asset to Team Magma? Being forced to leave would not be a desirable outcome.

The young admin was startled out of her introspection by the bed-side intercom clicking on with a shush of static.

"Admin Courtney? Do you copy?" It was one of the grunts.

"I am…here."

"Leader Maxie wants you in his office. There seems to be some thing of an emergency."

"Right away…"

* * *

"It is…a box."

"It has your name on it."

"It's ticking. Very irritating, might I add."

A large box addressed simply to 'Courtney' (the customary 'Magma Admin' title nowhere to be found in the bold, blue hand-writing) had shown up on the doorstep of Magma HQ early that morning. It bore no return-address, and even more troubling, was prone to ticking quite loudly, with a little beep thrown into the mix, just to shake things up now and then. The grunt who had retrieved it made a judgment call and brought it straight to Maxie.

"So nice of him to decide our leader is the one most deserving of a chance of being blown to bits…" Tabitha grumbled.

The two admins stood on other side of their leader, eyes fixed on the rather noisy box sitting upon his desk.

Courtney leaned in closer for a better look, her eyebrows perking up in recognition. "This handwriting...It is familiar."

Without hesitation, the girl grabbed a near-by letter opener off the desk and jabbed into the package.

"Courtney, wait!" Their leader demanded, but it was too late. The two men braced for impact, arms held up comically in front of their grimacing faces.

"…Flareon. Hah."

"Huh?" The two men lowered their arms, hesitantly approaching the box once more.

Indeed, an adorable Pokémon was waving it's flickering tail at them. However, the troublesome ticking noise persisted.

Courtney reached into the box, pulling the creature out.

"Cold," she remarked, her bemusement shifting into a frown as she cradled it.

"What? Let me see that," Tabitha took the creature from her, dangling it at arm's length. "She's right," he confirmed, looking to Maxie for help.

"Admin Courtney, can you tell us anything about this?"

* * *

"Why don't you go change out of your pajamas, while I go call up your girlfriend and find out what she was thinking. I think I still have her number somewhere from when we used to work together over at Devon…" Tabitha continued on his way toward his own room, while shoo-ing Courtney in the direction of her own, robotic Flareon trotting and ticking at her feet.

"_'Girlfriend'_…incorrect term…" she murmured before shutting her door with a neat little click. Her internal temperature regulation must also be adding to the growing list of things on the fritz, as she could feel her face becoming slightly warmer.

A moment later, a loud pounding prompted her to open the door once more. The small robot trotted into the room as if it belonged there. The volume of racket it had caused was quite surprising, Courtney thought as the Flareon surveyed the room, beeping and humming all the while. Typical Flareon behavior would have been to simply scratch and whine when it wanted in, but this one sounded quite like it had been bashing it's metallic head against the door.

What could be the purpose of this strange little robot? She mused on this the entire time she spent changing into her uniform, but she could come to no conclusion as to why Shelly would send such an illogical item.

Once she was fully dressed, Courtney allowed herself into Tabitha's room.

"I do think that's a good idea, actually… Yeah, I won't tell her… Matt says _what_? No, I don't need to talk to him! No, no, do _not_ put him on! …Just tell him I said 'hi'. Yeah, okay. …Bye." Tabitha hung up the phone was exasperated sigh, before turning around to see his fellow admin seated pertly on the edge of his couch. "Gah! Courtney! I've told you not to sneak up like that! You're a Ninjask, I swear…"

Taking in her still tousled bed-head, he sighed once more before turning back to his desk and sliding open a drawer. Fishing out a comb, he gave it a toss in her direction.

She snatched it from the air without flinching.

"Comb your hair. This isn't Team Aqua, thank god…"

Courtney complied, methodically smoothing out her purple locks. She had had longer hair as a child, but found it too cumbersome upon entering the Team. The heat from the volcanos had always made it frizz up terribly. The Magma Admin often marveled at how Shelly was able to manage it so well, especially considering all the work she did in water.

"You know, if you just dated Shelly, she'd keel over from glee if she got the chance to help you out with stuff like that. She'd braid your hair and do all that girly crap."

Courtney ceased her grooming, instead fixing her attention on Tabitha's desk. "The phone call…" she questioned.

"Hmm. Well, she let me in on the reasoning behind the present, but I'm in agreement with her that I should let you figure it out on your own for now."

"…I see," the girl replied simply.

However, Tabitha continued to look at her expectantly. Ever since Courtney had gone on that first date with Shelly, it was clear to him that she seemed a little more off than usual. Years of practice made it obvious when his friend needed to talk.

"My memory banks…they are stuck…repeating."

"This is about Shelly still, isn't it? Listen, spend some time with that robot she made for you, and the next time she asks you out, go with her, hear her out, and then decide if you need to reconsider or not."

"…Course of action…acceptable."

* * *

Notes: If you get a chance, please watch the film by the same title as this story :3


	2. Put That Thing Back Where it Came From

Ever since the day a handful of years ago when the petite lavender-haired girl first walked into Devon Corp, Shelly had been captivated.

One afternoon, Courtney had dropped by to bring Tabitha the flash drive he had forgotten at home. Shelly had never seen such an enchanting person before. Her fluffy hair was the same color as a Drifloon, and she was so dainty! Courtney was so light on her feet, one might imagine her truly taking after a Drifloon- just floating away with the summer breeze. The Devon engineer nearly dumped a full mug of coffee on her keyboard the first time the stunning new-comer walked by.

Immediately after Courtney had left, Shelly inundated her coworker with questions. What was her name? Why hadn't she ever seen her around before?

Tabitha had explained that Courtney was his roommate. She worked from home as a web-developer, rarely leaving the apartment. The conversation ended with Shelly begging Tabitha to set them up. Courtney was initially very reluctant to the idea when Tabitha broached it, but she ultimately conceded that spending time together on occasion as friends would be acceptable, as long as Tabitha came along as well.

Even if she desperately wished for more, simply being around the other girl was nothing short of magical for Shelly. Courtney was so smart; her quirky way of speaking often masked witty remarks that always caught Shelly off guard in the best of ways.

Eventually the two were even able to spend time together without the need for their mutual friend tagging along.

Things were going along so well, until the day Shelly invited the other girl for a picnic at the beach. Courtney had hung up on her, and refused to take any more of her calls for an entire week. Tabitha later explained to Shelly about the tragic death of Courtney's older brother some years before.

Not long after the incident, the two women joined their respective teams, walking down vastly different paths.

More recently, however, the two team's paths began to cross more and more frequently. On one such occasion, when their differing goals brought them to the same place yet again, Shelly finally asked: "Courtney, would you please go out with me?"

The subsequent date had unfortunately ended with Courtney's announcement that she was a robot, and thus incapable of love. It had come as something of a shock to Shelly. Courtney had been, in her eyes, more alive than anyone she had ever met- a vibrant inferno raging through her calm sea of blue.

Shelly, now grinning at her desk in Aqua headquarters, wondered how Courtney was getting on with the present.

* * *

All that remained of the once metal door that had led into the Magma Admin's room, was a semi-molten, bubbling puddle.

"Flareon!" Courtney called into the room, leaping hesitantly over the mess. Nothing else in the room showed any signs of damage, so there clearly hadn't been a lava breech. Her new present must have broken out. How foolish, to have left it alone in there. Just another malfunction to add on to the ever-growing list.

"Flareon!" she called out again, scanning the area.

"Whereabouts unknown…" she murmured to herself.

Reaching for the cardboard box she had yet to throw away, Courtney plucked out the paper that lay at the bottom. It appeared to be some sort of set of instructions, though the paper may have felt ashamed to call itself such. Scrawled across the surface in the same blue ink as on the address label, were the words:

_'__Give him what this paper is missing. ;D'_

"…Flareon, come here!" she attempted one last time, letting the paper flutter back into the box.

After a moment, the click-clack prancing of mechanical paws could be heard approaching from the direction of Tabitha's quarters, before a small face poked around the scorched doorframe.

A chipper little _'beep?'_ emanated from the rouge machine, as it cocked it's head in curiosity.

It would seem that Courtney's hunch had been correct: The robotic Pokémon would need to be given instructions, which was exactly what the paper had been lacking in. How troublesome. She wondered just how capable the thing was. Would it repair the door it had melted if asked? Somehow, she doubted it.

As the mechanized creature entered the room, Courtney noticed the clock above the doorway. The daily meeting for the Magma higher-ups would be starting in five minutes. Though she had already spoken with both Maxie and Tabitha that day, she could still not allow herself to perform such a grievous system error as tardiness, not on top of her other current 'malfunctions'.

As she turned to exit the room once again, the robotic Flareon began to trot right back out after her.

It was becoming clear that Shelly had programmed the robot to follow Courtney everywhere she went, resulting in the innocent bystander that was her door becoming a casualty. It must have had difficulty locating her if its breakout. Though Shelly at times did and said things that didn't always make sense to the other girl, Shelly could be relied on to not invade her privacy for the most part. This could be evidenced in the fact that the former scientist had not installed any sort of tracking into the robot.

"Remain stationary. …I will return."

Two hours later, Courtney did return to the room, hand grasping the air over the spot where the doorknob had been only hours earlier. Hand dropping uselessly back to her side, she entered to find the Flareon standing stationary in the center of the floor, as if it were nothing more than a simple pokedoll. The only evidence that it was anything more was the persistent ticking sound.

Courtney frowned. Something about seeing something that had been so lively earlier become so deathly still was beginning to unsettle her.

"Flareon…initiate a dance sequence."

She giggled softly to herself as the robot wiggled to life, standing on two legs, gyrating its tiny orange hips in time to the ticking. However, as the spectacle continued on and on, for ten minutes or more, the feeling of uneasiness began to settled back into her gut.

"Flareon, cease operations."

The artificial creature became still once more.

Courtney sat on the edge of her couch, cradling her chin in her hands with a sigh. Just what was Shelly trying to prove with this bizarre present? Shelly had given her gifts before, but had been normal things, like candies and books.

_Boop!_

For the second time that day, the intercom beeped into life.

"Admin Courtney?" the same grunt as before came on the line.

"I am here."

"There's someone here to see you."


	3. Shelly and the Real Girl

Whether you just started reading this, or have stuck around since the beginning, thank you so much for reading and leaving kudos!

Heads up that the adult portion of the story is in this chapter! Also there are super brief mentions of some m/m ships, but hopefully they aren't enough to bother anyone too much.

Happy Femslash February once again! Time moves so fast, doesn't it?

Courtney, unending wellspring of social graces as she was, stood silently just outside the entrance to Magma HQ, violet eyes staring up at the visiting Aqua Admin.

Courtney had no need to question how Shelly had reached the secret base- the set up was nearly identical to that of Team Aqua's. The leaders of both teams were really far more like minded than they thought.

It was Shelly, of course, who finally spoke. "Look…I know it's really short notice and everything, but Tabs told me it was your day off, so I thought maybe we could do something together… Even if you can't forgive me for whatever I did, I at least wanted to drop off this present."

Shelly presented the other girl with a fancy red gift bag. Inside was brand-new Wii U. If Team Aqua paid anything near what Team Magma was able to pay its employees, it must have taken Shelly months to save up.

"If you have it already, I can go back and exchange it," Shelly said quickly. It was rare for her to sound uncertain.

Courtney shook her head fervently.

"It is…a welcome component for my collection. Thank you." Courtney thought that she felt her lips forming into a brief smile in spite of herself.

How could she burden Shelly by spending the day with her while she was in the middle of going haywire like this? Her entire system had been failing to follow proper programming all day long. It wouldn't fair to Shelly.

Still, Courtney recalled Tabitha's words from earlier. He wanted her to go with Shelly, and his advice was generally sound for a person as cranky as himself. _Shelly_ wanted her to go, and Shelly cared for her, even if she didn't seem to understand what Courtney's being a robot entailed. Perhaps she could explain it Shelly again during their outing, and this could finally be the last time for them. It would be for the best.

Shelly continued to look at the smaller girl expectantly. She always knew to wait patiently for Courtney's answers when she took time to process information.

"I…You and me… I agree to engage in this experiment with you."

And so, the two flew to Mauville by way of Shelly's Pelliper. Shelly, of course, would have much rather ridden her Sharpedo, though she didn't suggest it out of respect for Courtney, as difficult as her hatred of water was for Shelly to wrap her mind around.

"How about we grab a bite?" Shelly asked once they arrived.

After a lovely meal at the food court (Shelly insisted on doing all of the battling while Courtney held the seats), Shelly dragged Courtney into one of the clothing boutiques. Even though their teams were just beginning to get off the ground, their uniforms would be famous enough as soon as their leaders were to get their grand plans off the ground. Besides, Shelly just wanted to see Courtney in a dress again.

"What do you think of this one?" she asked, holding a lavender sundress up to the smaller girl. It was meant to be knee-length, but on Courtney, the hem might over-shoot its mark.

"Non-recyclable," Courtney murmured. Though her choice in wording was cryptic, Shelly could tell by the glimmer in her eyes that she liked it.

"Would you like to try it on?" Shelly asked.

There was another long pause from Courtney as she considered for a moment, lips forming a thoughtful little pout, before nodding.

As Shelly watched Courtney's back disappear behind the dressing room curtain, she longed to follow her inside, to pull her turtle neck up over her head, ruffling up that fluffy hair, to pull the zipper of that sundress carefully up over the curve of her back…

All too soon, yet not soon enough, Courtney emerged.

Shelly was momentarily at a loss for words. If she could have, she would have liked to mail photos of Courtney in this dress to every Pokémon lovers association in the region, with an attached letter informing them that _this _was clearly the cutest living thing on the planet, their Skitties and Jigglypuffs be damned.

Before she could stop herself, Shelly gathered the smaller girl into her arms. How could someone so soft and warm ever think that they were made of steel and bolts?

"I'm sorry," Shelly apologised as she let go of Courtney.

Courtney, however, shook her head- the hug had been fine with her.

With the shopping over, the day was now drawing to a close as Courtney and Shelly sat together on a bench on the Mauville rooftop.

Shelly watched as a flock of Wingull flew overhead. She found it hard to believe her luck that someone like Courtney had agreed to spend the day with her. However, a question had nagged at the back of her mind the entire time, the same one that had been on her mind ever since the time Courtney had turned her down after their last date. Though she worried that her question might upset the other girl, Shelly felt fairly certain that if she could understand Courtney's reasoning, she could better help her through whatever had caused this.

It was now or never; if she asked over the phone later, Courtney might hang up on her. She couldn't rely on Tabitha relying messages between them forever.

"Courtney?"

"Hmm?" The other girl stopped licking the icecream she had been working on. Strawberry, the color suited her new dress so perfectly, as she sat on the bench under the evening sun, other hand in her lap, as if she were modeling for some sort of painting.

Shelly's blue eyes locked with lavender. "What makes you say that you're a robot?"

The lavender set of eyes widened, as their owner took a cautious slurp of icecream.

"…Crying." Courtney replied simply.

For one terrible moment, Shelly's heart sank- she really had upset the other girl, she thought. That is, until Courtney spoke again, her grip tightening on the cone she held, icecream dripping over hand.

"My brother… _deleted… _I failed to cry. I…have no heart, you see. Cold. Empty." Courtney placed her free hand over the strap of her sundress, where a heart surely did beat.

"_Courtney…" _Shelly placed her hand on the girl's thigh, leaning in earnestly, eyebrows turned up in disbelief. "People grieve in different ways! You were only just a little kid when it happened. You were crying on the inside, I know you were! You still are. Courtney, you are not a robot."

With that, Shelly continued to lean in farther, taking Courtney's strawberry-flavored lips in her. It was the sweetest thing she had ever tasted and it took everything she had to not eat her up.

The moment was brief, and Shelly pulled away with reluctance.

"What did you feel?" she breathed.

"_…System overload." _Courtney whispered back, looking side to side as if wondering just who they were attempting to keep this hushed conversation from.

It would seem that the two men on another bench across the way had stolen their idea, as the blue-haired man was tenderly removing the second man's white beret, before running his fingers through his seafoam hair.

Shelly laughed. "Maybe we should go somewhere more private."

* * *

"If Maxie finds me in here, he'll blow his top," Shelly was clearly impressed at Courtney's audacity at inviting her into Magma HQ.

Courtney simply shrugged as the two traversed the halls. Shelly, clad in civilian clothes, a crop top and ripped jeans, she wasn't likely to raise any alarm bells as long as Courtney didn't let her stray off on her own. Besides, it wasn't as if Matt wasn't over all the time, making overtures toward the chronically cranky Tabitha. Not to mention whatever _'private meetings'_ Archie and Maxie were always up to.

Finally, they reached the place where the door to Courtney's room once stood.

Shelly grinned impishly. "Flareon's handy-work?"

Courtney nodded as they entered the room. Her room was similar to the others belonging to the higher-ups: a living room with kitchenette, plus a bedroom and bathroom.

Courtney eyed the deactivated Pokémon robot she had left sitting in the corner of the living area, before asking, "Why?"

Shelly took the liberty of seating herself on the couch. "I wanted to show you what robots are really like. They only follow programming; they can't think for themselves, or feel. Courtney, you act of your own free will- joining Magma, going out with me just now- those were _your _decisions. It was a stupid stunt on my part, I know, but I wasn't sure how to get my point across. I _love you, _Courtney, and I just want you to see yourself the way I see you, as someone who's vibrant and alive and caring. I know you loved your brother, and he knew it too."

Shelly then smirked, waggling her brows. "Besides, if you keep insisting that you're a robot, I might have to start saying that I'm one too, since, ya know, I can't breathe when ever I'm around you."

Courtney rolled her eyes. Even though she wasn't the most savvy Team Magma member when it came to social interaction (not that Tabitha or Maxie were, either. The honor actually fell to Grunt #74, who was very proud of his title), even she knew a terrible pickup line when she heard one.

With a soft smile, she sat beside Shelly. Maybe tomorrow morning, she would wake up and remember that she was still nothing but a robot, and this moment was just another malfunction, but for now, maybe she could at least pretend to be a real girl. She couldn't deny that the kiss on the bench had certainly felt real, after all. Warm sparks, the likes of which electricity could never supply, had surged up from somewhere deep inside. Despite herself, despite everything she had thought ever since she had been a terrified child on that boat so long ago, Courtney wanted this.

Shelly placed her hands on either of Courtney's sides, gently guiding her into her lap. Her lips burned on Courtney's neck, as if she had fallen into the lava, only to be reborn a phoenix. Shelly began to meander over skin exposed by the thin sundress, kisses sprinkling like the water she loved so, all up and down Courtney's milky neck, stopping to linger at the shell of her ear, causing her to shutter like she had stepped in the cold ocean, despite the heat of Shelly's open mouth.

"Do you want to move to your room?" Shelly whispered into her ear. Though Courtney was tiny enough to lay flat on the couch, Shelly still wanted to make sure she was as comfortable as possible.

Courtney nodded, slipping off of Shelly's lap and heading for her room, though a bit stiffly, her panties now sticking in obscure places as they were.

Not that Shelly was in any better shape as she sat on the edge of Courtney's bed.

Courtney, needing little coaching at this point, flopped backward onto the bed, view of the popcorn ceiling quickly obscured by Shelly's face.

Shelly was beautiful, not to mention kind and strong, Courtney thought, as the other girl tucked a streak of blue hair behind her ear, all the while gazing down at Courtney sprawled beneath her. Even if Courtney had been a robot until now, even robots were able to process facts.

Shelly began to slide the dress's straps down Courtney's shoulders, lower, and lower, as if peeling a succulent fruit, until her entire chest was exposed.

"Tell me if you're not okay with something, and I'll stop, okay?" Shelly asked, taking a pause in her actions.

Courtney nodded quickly, anything to keep Shelly doing whatever she was about to do.

Shelly grinned, kissing Courtney on the mouth again, before placing an open-mouthed kiss on the lower part of Courtney's breast. Petite and rounded, Shelly could feel its pleasing shape with her tongue as she explored. The girl smelled and tasted like powdery fresh soap, the plain kind; she had never been one for fruity scents.

Courtney let out a squeak something like a surprised Pachirisu might make when Shelly reached her nipple, working in neat little sucks, before switching over to the other one.

Still straddling Courtney, Shelly sat up to work off her own shirt; sweaty as she was she starting to become, it wouldn't do to ruin it. Courtney, however, shook her head, leaning up to guide Shelly's wrist away from the blue fabric.

"Take over," Courtney rasped, her throat gone dry.

Shelly raised her arms in compliance as Courtney guided the top off of her chocolate skin to reveal a lacy bra. She was much more fit than Courtney, muscle where the smaller girl was only softness.

Shelly quickly picked up where she left off, swiping her tongue over Courtney's bellybutton, leaving her hands free to play on her chest, as Courtney wriggled and whined.

Finally, after what seemed like ages of Courtney feeling as if she would turn into a volcano and burst, Shelly's mouth found the area where Courtney wanted it most, drawing out a cry, strangled and gasping.

"That good, huh?" Shelly stopped, looking up into Courtney's face.

Courtney wanted to push her into a pit of lava for stopping. The grimace of hazed-over hunger in those lavender eyes said it all for her.

Shelly returned to suckling and teasing and tasting, tongue darting in and around as if there would soon be nothing left.

Courtney writhed, fingers clenching in the sheets before finding purchase in Shelly's disheveled her. Mewling sounds caught in her throat as if Shelly were greedily snatching them away from her.

With a final moan, every muscle in Courtney's body felt as if it were curling in on itself, like someone had packed her all up into a tight little box, before the wave of release freed her.

She went limp on the bed, fingers uncoiling from raven hair, as panting fell from her flushed face.

Shelly wasn't doing much better, shifting her legs off of the other girl, but she could handle things herself after Courtney was settled, if need be.

"Are you alright?" Shelly asked, caressing Courtney's cheek.

"…Paper jam," she replied absently, before clapping a hand over her mouth. She shouldn't speak that way anyone, if she truly planned to become a real girl, or so she thought.

Shelly, however, gently lifted the hand away. "I love the way you talk, Courtney, it's adorable. You can be the same person you always were, because you're just that- a person."

Shelly softly pecked Courtney's forehead, "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to, er, _use_ the bathroom, so…"

However, before she could slide off the bed, Courtney sat up, face set in a frown of determination as she pushed Shelly's shoulders down onto the mattress…

* * *

_The next morning…_

"Ugh," Shelly sighed, pulling on her pants, "As easy-going as Archie is, even he'll get on my case if I'm much later. I'll drop by again next weekend. Okay, Hun?"

Courtney, still wrapped in sheets, nodded, smile still soft and hazy despite her night's rest.

Shelly finished dressing and made to leave. However, as she stood before the missing doorway, leading out into the HQ halls, she noticed that the group of female grunts walking past sped up very quickly, their faces pink as they whispered and giggled, casting side-glances at Shelly.

Then it hit her- the door. Not only had the door to the living room been missing, but the door into Courtney's bedroom had been left open as well.

_Oh shit._

Anyone passing by last night would have heard _everything. _

* * *

_Two hours later…_

"So, er, Admin Courtney," Maxie coughed into his hand, before looking down into his coffee, before glancing at the inspirational poster of a Meowth hanging from a tree branch, anywhere that wasn't the admin's expectant face, "The first order of business today is getting your door repaired…"

_The end_


End file.
